23Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 5 Comments

PASS Summit 2010 Survey Results

PASS
As I have done in previous years, I’m going to post the results from my sessions at the PASS Summit. Feedback is a gift. I received a great many gifts this year and I’m extremely happy about all of them. There are a set of questions with ratings, the higher the rating, the better you did. One exception to this rule is the question on time for the session. I think there, somewhat lower scores are better. There were 183 technical sessions rated during the Summit. I’m very honored to have been included in that list. Identifying and Fixing Performance Problems using Execution Plans: 286 Attendees, 172 Responses, Avg Score of 4.23, Placed 136th How would you rate the usefulness of the information presented in your day-to-day environment? 1 2…
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20Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 12 Comments

The iPad/SQL Monitor Results

Misc
I ended up with 131 posts (1 late hit, sorry), not counting any duplicates with Brent or Steve. It was clear that people really took this thing seriously and put thought and effort into the posts. I wish I had about 60 iPad's to give away instead of only 10. But, decisions had to be made. The point system is utterly meaningless, but, points were awarded for pithiness (I warned you), for a well-turned phrase, and as much as I'm loathe to admit it, for poetry (just because of the work involved). Originally, I planned on just randomly picking the winner. But, I only had 131 entries, and you all worked so hard, I decided to read them all and work hard for you in return. This really was a…
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15Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 8 Comments

The iPad, So Far

Misc
[caption id="attachment_1765" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="In the front yard, using the iPad & SQL Monitor"][/caption] After a great deal of unseemly begging, I managed to acquire an iPad. My intentions were to make it into a internet browser, email reader, blogging, and light writing machine. Additionally, I knew there'd be some time suck from games and I could set it up as a book reader, music player, movie viewer. I had hopes of possibly doing something resembling work with it. Illusions are easily shattered. Let's start with internet browsing. It's great. Really. As long as I stay away from Flash, which, for the most part, so far, I've been able to. +1 for the iPad. Email reading, it was easy to set up an email account, and there's a Google app,…
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13Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 133 Comments

Life/Work Balance

SQL Server, Tools
Technology, especially information technology, is the greatest thing to ever happen to mankind, freeing us from toil and drudgery. Technology, especially information technology, is a pernicious evil taking over our lives forcing us to work harder and longer. Depending on the time of day, the day of the week, my mood, my wife’s mood, or the direction the wind is blowing, either of these statements could be true. The fact is, I love technology and I do have to wrestle with keeping it from taking over my life, but only because I have so much fun with the toys that technology brings. You want to know how much I love toys, ask me about my Droid sometime. Pull up a chair. We’re going to be here a while. The trick…
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10Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 15 Comments

12 Days of SQL, On the 2nd Day of SQL…

PowerShell
Microsoft gave to me, an excellent new management language. Yeah, so it doesn't rhyme or match the song in any way, but as far as gifts of the season go, PowerShell is it. There are a couple of problems with PowerShell, first, it's not installed everywhere, and second, DBAs just haven't quite latched on to this new language as a management tool. That second problem is absolutely not one that I would say about Aaron Nelson (blog|twitter), our next 12 Days of SQL blogger.  Aaron is one of the leading lights out there educating DBAs, and everyone else for that matter, about the strengths and capabilities of PowerShell as a management language for SQL Server. I've said it twice, and I hope you noticed, but I didn't say scripting language,…
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09Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

SQL Saturday New England, #71

PASS
I've finally got everything together to get the web site going for SQL Saturday #71. The call for speakers is open. We're open for registrations. I'll be contacting sponsors shortly (or you can always contact me). In short, SQL Saturday #71, New England Data Camp #3, is a go!
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08Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 1 Comment

So you want to write a book

Misc
I had posted a while back on the process of book writing. It was an attempt to educate while scaring you half to death. Writing a book is extremely hard work, especially when you try to do it while holding down a full-time job and maintaining something resembling a life. Enough scare tactics though. My Apress editor, Jonathan Gennick, great guy, wrote a detailed overview of how to put together your book proposal. The overview is targeted at Apress, but that’s largely a question of formatting. The gist of the article, and the wisdom and excellent information within it, are going to be applicable to any & all publishers. Some of the stuff that really jumped out at me: You’re writing the proposal not only to sell the book idea,…
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06Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey 12 Comments

Review: Idera SQL Doctor

SQL Server, T-SQL, Tools
Recently, a co-worker practically slammed me up against the wall, exclaiming “You have to check out this new tool, right now!” The piece of software he was so excited about was Idera’s SQL Doctor. Based on this assaultrecommendation, I decided to take a little time & look the software over. SQL Doctor, as the name implies, is a diagnostic tool. It runs a set of best practice rules against your server, your databases and your code. As the rules are executed, your system’s compliance with these best practices is evaluated and an interactive report is generated. With the report you can drill down on various aspects of your system to see where you may have gone wrong. All that sounds very clinical, just laid out like that. But the fact…
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02Dec 2010 by Grant Fritchey No Comments

SQL Spackle

SQL Server, T-SQL, Tools
I previously mentioned how SQL Server Central was listing ideas for articles, primarily for short, quick, pointed articles that they were terming SQL Spackle. Spackle is a term in the US that represents the filler you put into dry-wall to smooth it out or fix small holes, so SQL Spackle is meant to fix small gaps in knowledge or documentation. My first SQL Spackle article was published today. I kind of forgot it was coming. I wrote a quick and pointed outline of how to set up and schedule a server-side trace. This is something I've always advocated, and now I can point to a bit of spackle to fill in the gaps for those who don't know how to get it done.
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30Nov 2010 by Grant Fritchey 6 Comments

Regressions

SQL Server
[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="244" caption="Hannah Dustin, Upset about Regression"][/caption] One of the most important take-aways from David Dewitt's presentation at the PASS Summit was the level of fear within the Query Processing team at Microsoft caused by regressions. If you missed Dr. Dewitt's presentation, I tried to capture as much of it as I could here, and it will be available within the DVDs from PASS. Regression is when something moves backwards to a less perfect state. When talking about the optimizer in SQL Server, a regression is when you see a query that used to run fast in SQL Server 2000 or 2005 and suddenly after upgrading to 2005 or 2008, the exact same query now generates a different execution plan and runs slowly. Now do you know why…
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